February 25, 2003 [Volume 4, Issue 5]
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In this issue of To Your Health:
18 Wheels, 23 Discs
Truckers
and others who drive for a living report more back problems than those
working in any other occupation. Scientists have theorized that constant,
long-term "whole-body vibration" caused by driving accelerates degeneration
and herniation of the body's 23 spinal discs, leading to lower-back pain
and disability.
Researchers compared 45 pairs of identical male twins who had distinctly different driving patterns throughout their lives, in which one twin had spent a lot of time driving occupationally, and the other had not. The amount of spinal disc degeneration each man suffered was determined based on readings from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Twins were studied because in the absence of outside factors that affect spinal degeneration, a set of twins' spines should appear fairly similar at any given point in time.
Driving time did not appear to affect spinal disc degeneration; men who drove multiple hours daily for many years were no more likely to have significant disc degeneration than their twins who did not. No other spinal disorders appeared more common in professional drivers, either, in this study appearing in The Lancet.
This is good news if you drive an 18-wheeler: Your spine may not suffer permanent damage from long hours on the road. Yet the fact remains that back pain is common in drivers. Whether the pain is caused by muscle fatigue or damage, nerve changes at the cellular level or some other factor, your doctor of chiropractic can help prevent it.
Reference: Battié MC, Videman T, et al. Occupational driving and lumbar disc degeneration: A case-control study. The Lancet 2002:360(9343), pp. 1369-1374.
To see more studies on back pain, check out https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/musculoskeletal/backpain/index.html.
A Labor of Love
Mothers often point out to their children how much pain they had to endure giving birth (so their children will have sympathy and obey them!). This tactic may not be so common in the future, however. Women are increasingly opting to deliver through more convenient Caesarean sections, despite no medical necessity for surgery in many cases.
A recent study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) evaluated the success of its recent goal to reduce the number of C-sections in favor of natural births. Twenty-three percent of births were Caesarean in 2000, but the CDC would like to see only 15% of first-time mothers delivering by C-section. To follow current trends, the CDC examined California's rates of vaginal births after Caesarean births (VBACs) from 1996-2000 birth certificates.
The report indicated that VBACs actually decreased by 35% in the four-year period. In other words, merely 15% of women who had previously undergone C-sections chose to have a vaginal birth in a subsequent pregnancy in 2000. Women appear to be opting for more C-sections, rather than fewer, in a reverse from trends in the '80s and '90s.
Countless studies show that vaginal births are safer for both mother and infant than Caesarean births. So why don't women choose this natural form of birth? If you are pregnant, give birth naturally unless your doctor advises you otherwise. It may be a more painful, longer labor than if you have a C-section, but at least you can use it for "guilt-trip" material when your kids get older!
Reference: Chavez GF, Takahashi E, et al. Vaginal birth after cesarean birth - California, 1996-2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC) 2002:51(44), pp. 996-998.
For more information about women's health, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/women.
Bifocals: Focus on the Risks
In 1784, Benjamin Franklin created bifocal glasses so he could see clearly up close and far away using the same lenses. He suffered from presbyopia, or loss of flexibility in the eye lenses, as do virtually all people by their 50s. Despite their obvious convenience, bifocal glasses may be dangerous for the elderly, based on a study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Falls in seniors are common and can have severe consequences, such as hip fractures and even death. Researchers examined a possible link between multifocal glasses (bifocals, trifocals or progressive lenses) and risk of falling in more than 150 people ages 63-90. Subjects also were examined to assess different visual abilities while wearing the lenses.
Seniors who wore multifocal glasses (nearly all wore bifocals) were more than twice as likely to fall over one year as those who did not, and even more likely to fall due to tripping, when negotiating a staircase or when away from home. These individuals also performed significantly poorer on tests of depth perception and edge-contrast sensitivity.
As you get older, consider owning two separate pairs of glasses if you have presbyopia - one pair for near vision, the other for distance. Although keeping two pairs may be less convenient, it may save you from a dangerous fall. If you insist on wearing multifocal lenses, remember to be especially careful when traveling outside of your home and on uneven surfaces.
Reference: Lord SR, Dayhew J, Howland A. Multifocal glasses impair edge-contrast sensitivity and depth perception and increase the risk of falls in older people. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2002:50(11), pp. 1760-1766.
For more senior health studies, visit https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/senior.
How Do You Snack Up?
As a chiropractic patient, you probably lead a healthier life than your peers. After all, your chiropractor has taught you to prevent illnesses before they happen, through a healthy diet, exercise and avoidance of bad habits. Yet a recent Australian study indicated that not all chiropractic patients eat healthier than the rest of the population.
To evaluate fruit and vegetable consumption, almost 800 Australian chiropractic patients at 24 practices completed questionnaires on diet and lifestyle. Overall, the patients in this study in the Chiropractic Journal of Australia reported many healthy behaviors, such as exercising (approximately 90% exercised three times per week) and not smoking.
However, only half of the patients ate the minimal recommended five or more servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Also, only 19% of the patients reported consuming the recently established Australian dietary recommendations to eat two fruits and five vegetable servings daily.
Patients with unhealthy lifestyles, such as smokers, heavy drinkers and sedentary individuals, are most likely to consume fewer servings of fruits and vegetables. But even if you lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle, a good diet is still essential. Fruits and vegetables provide necessary vitamins, antioxidants, fiber and other nutrients that can't be found in other foods. Your chiropractor can arm you with comprehensive diet information.
Reference: Jamison JR. Fruit and vegetable consumption by chiropractic patients: An Australian case study. Chiropractic Journal of Australia 2002:32(1), pp. 2-6.
For more on good nutrition, go to https://www.chiroweb.com/find/archives/nutrition.
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